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Chinese human rights activist visits Westminster

January 1st, 2003

Chinese human rights activist, Bob Fu, visited Westminster last week and spoke at a meeting hosted by Lord Alton of Liverpool. He called for redoubled efforts to be made to highlight the persecution of Christians in the run up to the Beijing Olympic Games. Born and raised in mainland China, Bob Fu attended People's University in Beijing and was a leader of the student democracy movement that ended in the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989. That year, he became a Christian and he and his wife, Heidi, later started a Bible School in a shuttered factory. On May 9, 1996, secret police discovered the school, and Bob and Heidi were imprisoned. Bob Fu was fired from his job as an English teacher and Heidi lost her acceptance to study for her master's degree. Heidi was also pregnant and under the Chinese one child policy Chinese law requires women to obtain approval from their work units before conceiving a child. Without approval Heidi could receive no medical help and would be forced to abort her baby, even at full term. Newly released from prison, Bob and Heidi, fled to Hong Kong as tourists, abandoned their group and applied repeatedly for visas to America. They knew that, if they were unable to get out in time, they would be arrested again. They were given permission to emigrate to the United States just a few days before Hong Kong was handed back to the Beijing authorities by the British. In 2002, Bob Fu founded China Aid Association to draw international attention to China's human rights violations against Christians. At Westminster Bob Fu said he wants China to prosper but believes "this can only be realized as true religious freedom is fully embraced in China and protected by the rule of law." "My hope is that the Chinese government will recognize that Christianity and other true peaceful religious groups do not need to be controlled and are not a threat to the government but, rather, are one of the needed building blocks for stability and can provide much-needed help for promoting non-violence during this time of transition in China's history," he said. Fu urged British Christians to maintain "religious freedom as a top priority but also understand this is a complex issue in the Chinese mindset and Chinese history." For more information see: www.davidalton.com

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